noun
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a person who threshes
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short for threshing machine
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Also called: thrasher. thresher shark. any of various large sharks of the genus Alopias, esp A. vulpinus, occurring in tropical and temperate seas: family Alopiidae. They have a very long whiplike tail with which they are thought to round up the small fish on which they feed
Etymology
Origin of thresher
First recorded in 1350–1400, thresher is from the Middle English word thressher. See thresh, -er 1
Explanation
A machine or tool used for separating seeds from a grain can be called a thresher. The mechanical thresher was invented in the 18th century. Threshers have simplified the work of agriculture, automating a job that humans once spent tedious hours doing. A combine is an even more efficient machine, combining a thresher and a harvester—it picks the grain and separates its seeds. A scythe is a curved knife used for hand threshing, and the thresher shark gets its name from a resemblance to this tool.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We’re not talking about a loom, a thresher, or a bolt-turning robot.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
The research team collaborated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to gain access to thresher specimens that had stranded onshore or been salvaged from fishing competitions.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
Researchers found that the mineralized microarchitecture in thresher shark vertebrae changes in the front and the back of the body, and these anatomical modifications may support their unique tail-whipping behavior.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2024
Phoenix, meanwhile, has resembled basketball’s version of a thresher, ripping through the NBA and extracting what it wants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2022
We might see the thresher with his flail lay on the monstrous blows, which was strange to behold.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
